Brits would think twice about a brand after a cyberattack

They're most worried about losing money.

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The majority of consumers would do business with a hacked company, only if they had no other choice. This is according to a new report by cybersecurity, data and critical information systems protection organisation Thales.

Just 16 per cent would continue to use a company’s products or services as usual, after a breach. More than a quarter (27 per cent) would limit their usage, and a fifth (20 per cent) would completely stop. More than a third (37 per cent) would continue using their services and products only if they had no alternatives.

“It’s important for firms to recognise just how much of their customer base might be lost in the wake of breach incidents,” said Sol Cates, vice president of technology strategy at Thales e-Security.

“With more than half of respondents saying that they would either immediately stop using an organisation’s products or services altogether, or use them only if they have no other choice, effective security controls specifically placed around data to prevent and minimise damage from data breaches become an absolute requirement.”

Surprisingly, personal data being stolen (38 per cent) is not what consumers fear the most – they mostly fear their money being taken away (46 per cent). Login information (nine per cent) and getting more spam email (seven per cent) were also mentioned.

“The theft of money from someone’s bank account as the result of a breach is a very tangible fear, but realistically it is much less likely than other outcomes,” continued Cates.

“The implications of identity theft should pose far more of a concern, as they can be extremely painful and long lasting, with clean-up from incidents taking months or even years, and having long term effects on using and obtaining credit when it is really needed. Once your data is ‘in the wild’, your life is never the same.”